Wednesday is the first democratic day of Milan Design Week. Most of the installations are now open to the public, so - if you missed openings and previews - arm yourself with sneakers and a bottle of water because the Salone del Mobile is in every interstice of the city.
After visiting “Musica da Viaggio” at the Grand Hotel et de Milan for the solo show by Vito Nesta in dialogue with Giuseppe Verdi, we went to Lexus in via Tortona 27, then Camp Design Gallery with the works of Adam Nathaniel Furman, to Torneria Tortona with the multisensory installation by Ikea in via Novi 5, followed by the mind-twisting facade envisioned by Alex Chinneck in Tortona and Angela Missoni’s colourful room in via Solferino 9.
Today, these are our appointments of choice:
Nendo x Daikin
The Japanese-Canadian designer has invaded the spaces of Tenoha showroom, Milan’s corner of Japan. In via Vigevano 18, Porta Genova area, it is possible to admire Daikin's synaesthetic installation "Breeze of Light", which shows how to perceive the air with the eyes. The intricate installation took three months to set up.
Ventura Centrale
Ventura Projects' most spectacular event at the Show is undoubtedly in Via Ferrante Aporti 9, in the Centrale area where the abandoned warehouses under the station come back to life for a week a year. Not to be missed this year are the installations by Benjamin Hubert for Cosentino, Maarten Baas, Aria, Humanscale and Gufram's bar for Lavazza.
Raf Simons x Kvadrat
“No Man's Land” is the poetic conceptual installation by Belgian designer Raf Simons for Kvadrat. A magical and surreal world in which a large indoor garden dialogues with the prefabricated architecture of Jean Prouvé at Garage 21, Via Archimede 26, Monforte/Risorgimento area.
Bottega Ghianda
An immersion of craftsmanship and irony in Via Formentini 9, with the sculptural cars of Lars Beller Fjetland, entirely handmade by the master craftsmen of Bottega Ghianda (artistic direction Michele De Lucchi). At the Palazzo di Brera in via Brera 28 will be guests names in architecture such as Alvaro Siza, Mario Bellini, Michele De Lucchi, Naoto Fukasawa, Jean Nouvel and Tobia Scarpa, with projects and products designed by them.
Wallpaper*Handmade X
The lively collective exhibition, Wallpaper Handmade, celebrates its tenth anniversary. As always, it supports emerging young designers alongside stalwarts of international design. This year the exhibition is held at the Salone dei Tessuti in via San Gregorio 29, in the Porta Venezia area: among the designers on show are Fritz Hansen with the artist Kasper Kjeldgaard, Jaime Hayon, Lanzavecchia + Wai, Layer and Paul Smith.